At lo levad (You're not alone)
by Petit97
Summary: Tiva during the season 13 of NCIS. During his last "trip" to Iraq, Tony thought he saw Ziva; but did he? Also what's going on between him and Gibbs? [I do not own NCIS or anything related. It's all CBS] Please review; I hope you guys enjoy it.
1. Prologue

Tony couldn't believe his life was actually improving. After Ziva left him, his heart was shattered in pieces like broken glass. He thought he was never going to be happy again. Every time he went home to his goldfishes, it was a reminder of his loss, after all one of the fishes was named "Ziva". For the first couple of months, he was devastated; he wasn't sleeping, he wasn't eating, he didn't wanna make jokes. When he opened his desk drawer at NCIS, his heart skipped a beat because of Ziva's necklace: the "present" she gave him back in Israel.

The squad was very worried about Tony; even Gibbs showed a little concern for the v _ery special agent_. He would sit and his desk hours after a case and stare at what used to be Ziva's space. He didn't talk or move at all; he only looked at the desk with very heavy eyes. Days passed, then weeks, months and, finally, a year…

Tony was starting to get back in his feet. Gibbs hired ex-CIA analyst Ellie Bishop and people started moving on. Nobody forgot Ziva, – especially Tony – but after sometime you gotta move on. The hole in his heart was starting to heal. Fate, destiny, coincidence or however you wanna call it, decided it was time for agent DiNozzo to get back out there and give love another try. He bumped into Zoe Keats, now and ATF agent, during a case. Many years ago, Tony left and didn't say goodbye to her. Now, it was his chance to set things right and make emends.

They started dating, had some fights – especially because of Tony's commitment problems – but when he had to Irak following a lead on The Calling, everything was great between them, no buts.


	2. Chapter 1 - Stop the Bleeding

NCIS special Agents Jethro Gibbs and Anthony DiNozzo and CIA Officer Joanna Teague went to Iraq to pursue The Calling and retrieve Luke Harris. In a terrible chain of events, Gibbs gets shot by the kid, leaving the rest of the team very worried. Unfortunately, Daniel Budd, leader of The Calling, hadn't been caught yet, which only made it a double tragedy.

Gibbs was taken immediately to the USS Daniel Webster Surgical Ward, where doctor Taft started operating on his GSW right away. Tony wanted to stand put until he was sure Gibbs was out of trouble, but director Vance had other plans. Priority number one was to take down Daniel Budd, so he and Joanna went back to the streets in order to find some leads and take the organization down.

They set a meeting with one of the CIA's contact and went to the chosen place. Since Tony was very worried, Joanna took him for a little walk so he could calm down a little. They stop in one of the tents and DiNozzo starts looking for a tie until he spots something two tents away that catches his eye. He drops the tie and starts walking. His heart races off; only a few steps away, his feet freeze. The phone rings. In the few seconds he looked away to pick up the phone, he lost it.

"You're definitely going crazy, Anthony", he thought.

\- DiNozzo. - He answered.

\- Agent DiNozzo. We have some intel for you.

Tony's brain stopped working and he didn't hear a thing Director Vance said. His eyes were trying to find his _target_ again, but with no luck whatsoever.

"It's not her. It can't be. It must be the heat in this place", he smiled and nodded to the ground.

\- Did you understand, Agent DiNozzo?

\- Yes, Director. Copy that, sir.

After a successful operation the task was completed and the agents returned home. Gibbs made through the surgery but he had to rest a lot before returning to work. Anthony was taking care of the team and nobody seemed to have notice a thing. However, every single second of his free time was being devoted to confirm one thing and one thing only: whether or not the girl he saw in Iraq was Ziva. He thought it was her, but the mind – especially the one in love – is known for playing tricks. But, unless he confirmed his suspicious he wouldn't be able to get back to his life. When his closed at night all he saw was Ziva in her cargo pants, boots, jackets and lovely ponytails. Her smiles – even the grumpy ones – in the morning were like a fresh air for Tony.

It was September when Gibbs went back to work. He and Tony weren't in good terms, but the very special agent didn't have time to deal with that. Since May he has been trying to find out Ziva's whereabouts, but not even his few contacts in the Israeli intelligence were able to help him. He almost gave up, but there were two very important rules stopping him from doing so:

#3 Don't believe what you're told. Double check.

#8 Never take anything for granted.

 _Tony wasn't going to stop until he reached the bottom._


End file.
